Abstract
We investigate the effects of topological constraints in catenanes composed of interlinked ring polymers on their size in a good solvent as well as on the location of their θ-point when the solvent quality is worsened. We mainly focus on poly[n]catenanes consisting of n ring polymers each of length m interlocked in a linear fashion. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we study the scaling of the poly[n]catenane's radius of gyration in a good solvent, assuming in general that Rg ∼ mμnν and we find that μ = 0.65 ± 0.02 and ν = 0.60 ± 0.01 for the range of n and m considered. These findings are further rationalized with the help of a mean-field Flory-like theory yielding the values of μ = 16/25 and ν = 3/5, consistent with the numerical results. We show that individual rings within catenanes feature a surplus swelling due to the presence of NL topological links. Furthermore, we consider poly[n]catenanes in solvents of varying quality and we demonstrate that the presence of topological links leads to an increase of its θ-temperature in comparison to isolated linear and ring chains with the following ordering: Tθcatenane > Tθlinear > Tθring. Finally, we show that the presence of links similarly raises the θ-temperature of a single linked ring in comparison to an unlinked one, bringing its θ-temperature close to the one of a poly[n]catenane.
Originalsprache | Englisch |
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Seiten (von - bis) | 3029-3038 |
Seitenumfang | 10 |
Fachzeitschrift | Soft Matter |
Jahrgang | 16 |
Ausgabenummer | 12 |
Frühes Online-Datum | 4 März 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publikationsstatus | Veröffentlicht - 28 März 2020 |
ÖFOS 2012
- 103023 Polymerphysik
- 103029 Statistische Physik